519 May 2019

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO’S ENTERTAINMENT NEWSPAPER 

519 

Issue 11 - May 2019 

FREE 

Where the Stars Hang Out in Southwestern Ontario 

THE HITMAN 

RETURNS TO THE 519 

JUNO AWARDS HUMANITARIAN 

& MEGASTAR DAVID FOSTER RETURNS TO 

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO 

DANKO JONES | STRYPER | BAYOU COUNTY 

AL YETI BONES | BAD ANIMAL 

Riverfront Theatre Company’s Mary Poppins | Orchestra Breva

AL YETI BONES 4 

STRYPER 7 

5 

DANKO JONES 

Issue 11 

May 2019 

Dan Savoie 

Publisher / Editor 

dan@519magazine.com 

April Savoie 

General Manager & Sales 

april@519magazine.com 

Matt Cave 

Regional Sales 

matt@519magazine.com 

Melissa Arditti 

Assistant Editor 

Kim Cushington 

Art Director 

Writers and Photographers 

Dan Boshart 

John Liviero 

Kirk Harris / Maureen Stewart 

341 Parent Ave. Windsor, ON N9A 2B7 

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Office: 519-974-6611 

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Springfield Library 3

Windsor metal head Al Yeti Bones 

has been at the helm of some pretty 

cool bands though the years – bands 

like The Mighty Nimbus, Georgian 

Skull, and Mister Bones. They’ve all 

achieved a certain level of success, 

but it’s his latest project, Gypsy Chief 

Goliath that he’s excited about most. 

Surging with 42 minutes of 

thundering riffs and deep grooves, 

Gypsy Chief Goliath’s latest album 

Masters Of Space And Time was 

released earlier this year on German 

label Kozmik Artifactz. The album 

was recorded in Windsor at Empire 

Recording Studios. 

519 sat down with Al to discuss the 

new music, a little bit of his background 

and his ambitious future plans. 

Were you born and raised in 

4 

Al Yeti Bones Proves He’s a Master of Space, Time and Heavy Metal 

Story and Photo By 

Dan Boshart 

Windsor? 

Oakville, I moved to Windsor with 

my parents when I was 8 years old. 

What was it like growing up, was 

there a lot of music in your home? 

I started playing piano around age 

6 and around 12 or 13 was one of the 

most monumental shifts in my life 

where I garnered up enough courage 

to tell my parents that I no longer 

wanted to play piano and I wanted to 

cancel all lessons immediately. The 

focus was more on classical music, but 

I just wanted to play Boogie Woogie. 

After having an “adult talk” with my 

dad, telling him I wanted to become a 

guitar player, he went out and bought 

me a left handed guitar. When my 

mom saw it, being from Romania, she 

just exaggerated the idea that Satan is 

coming to steal her child. In some ways 

maybe she was correct because it was 

what set me on the path to play Heavy 

Metal forever. It wasn’t until Grade 10 

that a drummer friend of mine said that 

we should probably play in a band and 

then I just started to write and write 

and write. 

Your music is labeled as stoner 

rock - a mixture of metal and 

psychedelic. Were you influenced by 

late 60’s and early 70’s music? 

Absolutely. Mainly classic rock 

and if we’re going into psychedelic, 

it’s mainly 60s and 70s - Animals and 

things like that, just heavy guitars. With 

stoner rock, it really originated with a 

band called Kyuss from the California 

dessert which was very much a jam 

band, but in the vein of Black Sabbath 

- being as heavy as possible, tuning 

down and playing it slow. Stoner 

rock, as much as it’s affiliated with 

marijuana, is more like caveman style 

heavy metal. It’s very, very chuggy; 

you hit like that with the drums and 

maintain a very steady groove 

You’ve been in several bands 

over the years, were they all “your 

bands”? 

Kinda, sorta. I started my own 

band, Mr. Bones when I was 19 and 

did that until I was 24. We started to 

get a little bit of recognition and once 

we got management, they wanted 

us to change the name and re-brand 

ourselves. And while I was against it, 

I decided to move forward because we 

had so many member changes over the 

years and they said let’s just start fresh. 

You guys are going on a 50-date tour 

that’s coming up soon so you might as 

well change it right now before things 

get too muddy. So we changed it to 

Georgian Skull and then we got picked 

up by a label from Italy called Scarlet 

Records. They put us out on SPV 

Records. Motorhead was on there and 

a few others. We were transferred over 

to eOne in North America, but by that 

point the band broke up. 

In the middle of all that I had joined 

a band from Minnesota called The 

Mighty Nimbus. They were a fraction 

of one of my favourite bands called 60 

Watt Shaman and they were still at a 

level where you were able to e-mail 

them and it would go straight to them. 

They invited me out to Minnesota to 

play guitar for them and once we did 

that, we got on a bigger tour and they 

moved me into vocals to sing. We then 

went on tour with Swedish death metal 

band Entombed and Crowbar and did a 

ton of shows across the U.S. 

Not long after that I started Gypsy 

Chief Goliath and that’s probably 

where I’ll stay now. I’ll do solo stuff on 

the side, but we’ve been doing it for 10 

years – we’re still broke, but its been 

10 good years. 

Have you ever toured Europe? 

No, we’ve always had record labels 

from Europe sign us and there’s 

always been talk of going to Europe, 

but it hasn’t happened yet. We’ve had 

opportunities to tour with Tim Ripper 

Owens across Europe and it just 

logistically didn’t make sense. I don’t 

want to go for a glorified rock ‘n roll 

vacation - I’ve got a family, and I’d 

rather go on vacation with them than 

with a band. 

We’re on a label now from Germany 

called Kozmic Artifactz, they’re the 

first ones that showed a real interest in 

putting out vinyl for us, so that was the 

deal clincher for me. We’ve been on 

labels before that were predominantly 

metal and metal labels don’t do much 

vinyl unless they have an eclectic 

roster that it appeals to. This label has 

spots on festivals where they can bring 

in artists, so we highly expect to go to 

Europe at some point. 

You’re talking vinyl, there’s a 

vinyl resurgence and it seems to go 

hand in hand with that classic rock 

sound. I noticed on your last album 

a lot of keyboards and a Deep Purple 

vibe to it. 

Yes, prior to that we had a harmonica 

player and we started running into 

the issue after about three albums 

where we were writing parts specific 

for harmonica and the sound of that 

output wasn’t what we were looking 

for anymore. We started to veer off and 

go back to just being a rock band. We 

don’t play live with keyboards, but we 

will if we play bigger shows. In that 

case, we’ll bring everyone that plays 

on the recording. 

You have a live album coming out. 

What’s that about? 

We recorded the album bare bones, 

stripped back at the DH (Dominion 

House Tavern), and we’re mixing it 

now - it sounds amazing. That was 

something that we always wanted to 

do. We may do a listening party when 

it’s released and do a tie-in with our 

Gypsy Chief Goliath Black Samurai 

IPA. 

You have your own beer brand if 

I’m not mistaken. 

A couple of years ago I was talking 

to a friend of mine who was a brewer at 

Walkerville Brewery and we had talked 

about how we could keep the buzz 

going around the band even when we 

weren’t releasing an album or touring. 

It was a main effort of mine to keep the 

band off the road for a while because of 

my own situation with family and other 

band members trying to work time off 

together. He was starting to take notes 

and he put a recipe together for a beer 

to brand our name, but he didn’t have 

the time to brew the beer on the scale 

we needed so he licensed it out to Craft 

Heads Brewing Company and they’ve 

had it out for about a year. 

Tell me about your podcast. 

I used to have a podcast called The 

T&A podcast - it was the Tommy and 

Al podcast and it was just me and 

a guy from England. We never met 

each other - we were just fans of each 

other’s bands and he and I started 

having these conversations on Skype. 

We said we need to start recording 

these and they went over very well 

with friends. Eventually we started to 

get a nice fan base of people we didn’t 

know. People started calling in and 

there was some crazy unexpected stuff. 

Having a new family at the time, things 

weren’t materializing the way they 

could have so I took a break from that 

until recently. I’ve started to write a 

lifestyle blog and it’s called Yeti Wake 

Up. It’s going to launch live soon, but 

right now it’s just contact driven and 

I’m creating a lot of content for it. I’ve 

been doing the podcast again that way 

and a few of the first episodes are going 

to be wild. It’s completely redirected 

from music. I think I always felt that 

if I could direct my passion and drive 

for music into other projects, it could 

really open up.

Danko Jones is Hitting the Road Like A Rock Supreme 

By Dan and April Savoie 

Danko Jones - the band who get 

their name from their colourful and 

killer frontman – has made a name for 

themselves over the years as a mustsee 

live band. They’ve performed 

memorable tours with the likes of Guns 

N’ Roses, Motörhead and Clutch and 

they endlessly tour the world promoting 

their albums - the latest being a 

masterwork called A Rock Supreme. 

Danko checked in with 519 ahead of 

their upcoming gig at London Music 

Hall on May 9. He had chat about the 

new album and its latest music video, 

for the track Dance, Dance, Dance. 

We’ve already heard the singles 

“Dance Dance Dance”, “We’re 

Crazy” and “Burn in Hell”. Other 

than kicking some serious ass, was 

there a theme or mission for the new 

album? 

Umm no. The mission is the same 

as every time we do an album, which 

is trying to make the best rock album 

we can. Just write a bunch of hard rock 

tunes that we like that sound good to 

our ears and if they do, hopefully they’ll 

sound good to other people’s ears too. 

That’s really all it is. I think that pretty 

much the same with every band on the 

planet. We’re all trying to make the 

best sounding records we possibly can. 

Everybody wants to make Appetite for 

Destruction. You know what I mean? 

Seeing as you like to watch the girls 

dance, were you there for the filming 

of the video? 

No, that was filmed in Stockholm. 

The director’s name is Amir Chamdin, 

and we’ve been wanting to work with 

Amir for over 10 years. He’s just a 

great film director and we love his 

music videos. He’s done pretty much 

every Hellacopters video and a bunch 

of others. We hooked up with him last 

summer at a Hellacopters show actually, 

and we got to talking. When it came 

time to make this video, he pitched us 

the treatment and I think it turned out 

great. 

I really like the video. 

Yeah, cool. We posted a clip of it to 

Instagram and it just shows you where 

people are these days. They saw the clip 

they started calling us sexist. It was a 

crazy with a deluge of comments from 

people. People either loved the video 

or people accused us of being sexist. 

The girls all came to the shoot. They 

all dressed themselves. There was no 

wardrobe that Amir shoved in their 

faces. So it was their own clothes, their 

own dance choreographers and their 

own trainers. They came onto the set 

ready to dance. Honestly, it’s what they 

wear when they dance. 

We said in a follow-up comment, 

please watch the whole video before 

you start giving your review of the entire 

video. Once we posted a different clip 

and we posted what we what I just said, 

everything stopped. It just goes to show 

you that people will look at something 

whether and immediately make their 

judgment on it. 

Those comments that labeled us 

sexists were harsh; I mean that’s a 

strong accusation, especially in these 

times. So if you’re going to say that 

about us make sure you do diligence 

and make sure you at least watch the 

whole video before you start accusing 

us of something pretty heavy to label 

someone like that in 2019. 

So you better have all your ducks 

in a row before you do that. All those 

comments disappeared the next time we 

posted a clip from the video. 

Yeah, we loved the video because 

we saw the whole thing but then it took 

away from the whole release of it. I 

was like, wow this is it sucks. This is 

seriously not what we were going for. 

I don’t believe in the saying “any 

news is good news” or “there’s no such 

thing as bad publicity”. I think there is 

such a thing as bad publicity. 

I haven’t seen you do a spoken 

word gig in a while. I love those. I saw 

Henry Rollins Captivate an audience 

for two hours a few years back. Will 

we see any more of that again? 

I don’t really do too many spoken 

word shows. I did some in 2004 because 

I wanted to try it out and see if I could 

do it - and I did it. 

I did a week and a half of touring on 

it and it was okay. People showed up 

thinking I was going to do some sort of 

acoustic thing or the band was playing, 

so it wasn’t really promoted properly 

because nobody knew what was going 

on. I did it before and then I stopped 

doing it. I didn’t do it for eight years 

and then I returned for the 2012 Wacken 

Open Air Festival, which is the biggest 

metal festival in the world. 

They made this crazy offer out of the 

blue asking if I would do a spoken word 

show at the festival and I agreed if I 

could have a few things with me. 

I needed a projector, a projection 

screen and a podium and they provided 

that for me. The projection screen was 

huge because it was under this massive 

tent that they were billing as the biggest 

tent at the biggest festival in the world . 

I spoke for two days consecutively at 

Wacken in 2012. I did the first two days 

and then Henry Rollins did the second 

two days, so it was Henry and me, and I 

thought it was fun. 

We took the video footage and cut 

it into a bonus feature on our Live at 

Wacken DVD and it was just a lecture 

where I prove that the real Peter Criss 

died in 1978 - and that’s what my 

spoken word show was. 

I’m not really into doing stuff like 

Henry and Jello Biafra do - they do it 

best and I don’t really want to tell road 

stories live - that’s probably what I 

would probably do if I had to do spoken 

word and that just doesn’t interest me at 

this point. 

What I do like to do is what I did - and 

that’s to lecture on KISS. When I put out 

my book last year I did some book talks 

and that was a version of a spoken word 

show. I just did one of those back in 

February in Stockholm and I just talked 

for an hour and read articles from the 

book but I also read articles that didn’t 

make the book. That was a different 

fresh approach to it. 

I’m using the book if anything to do 

spoken word, but it’s not really the same 

thing. 

There are people that can do it really 

well, but I need more than what Henry 

and Jello need, so it makes it hard to 

tour - not everyone can provide me 

with a big enough projection screen that 

everyone in the audience can see clearly. 

After your Wacken lecture, did you 

ever get to meet Peter Criss? 

No. I spoke at a rock convention 

in London Ontario where Peter Criss 

appeared. We were one the same day, 

but I didn’t I didn’t get to meet him 

because it was just too crazy. 

For the complete interview, visit 

519magazine.com. 

Photo by Christoph Gorke 

5

The 519 Band Keep Windsor-Essex Fresh and Funky 

By Dan Boshart 

For six years The 519 Band has 

been performing all across Windsor- 

Essex with a collection of more than 

70 cover songs to choose from. The 

core of the band is comprised of Jamie 

Thompson (lead vocals, lead guitar), 

Rob Balint (bass, backup vocals), 

Brian Jones (piano, keyboards),Dave 

Belch (saxophone), John Zuliani 

(drums), Giles Provost (harmonica, 

percussion) and Ryan Thompson 

(guitar). 

In 2015, The 519 Band was selected 

to represent the Canada South Blues 

Society at the International Blues 

Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, 

competing with more than 130 blues 

bands from around the world. 

This month, the band is set to 

release their first album of original 

music, including the infectious first 

single I Got The Blues. They plan to 

celebrate the album’s release on May 

19 at RockStar Music Hall in Windsor. 

519, the magazine, sat down with 

519, the band, for the lowdown. 

Tell us about the band. 

People think we’re all about 

Motown. They see us and think we’re 

going to jump into some Motown 

music, but we prefer Memphis Soul. 

There’s Hitsville which was Detroit 

and then there’s Soulsville which was 

Memphis. 

We have a good time together- we’re 

a gang. We play a lot of cover songs, 

but never how they were originally 

done. We try to have some fun with 

them and make them a little more 

interesting. It’s actually impossible 

for us to learn a song that Jamie 

Thompson suggests until he shows us 

how to play it because he’s going to 

make it the way he’s going to make it. 

How did you get the name 519 

Band? 

A kid gave me the name - a little girl 

at a dinner party asked me if I had a 

name for my band and said I should 

call it the 519 Band. I said to her 

that she was right and that is was a 

great idea. A little while later I went 

to Denial (a local Windsor artist) and 

said I need to get some shirts printed 

with the 519 logo and ‘support your 

local Indie band’, but he said he was 

too busy. 

A week later I’m going down 

Pellisier Street and I see windows full 

of 519 shirts everywhere. Another 

year later a 519er comes from BB 

Branded. Finally, another couple years 

go by and here come y’all with your 

519 Magazine. I was starting to get 

a little pissed (laughter). I didn’t say 

anything, but once the shirts started 

circulating people started recognizing 

the band. It’s free advertising. Brand 

your band. 

How did the band form? 

I started in 2006. I was always 

around musicians and I dabbled, but I 

just did it to talk to girls. We were in 

Mississippi, my brother-in-law and me 

and I picked up a guitar. He played bass 

and we taught each other. We brought 

my cousin Stevie in and he still plays 

percussion with us sometimes. 

My brother-in-law died suddenly 

shortly after we attended Jeff Healy’s 

induction in the Canada South Blues 

Hall Of Fame. He didn’t feel good, 

so we left early and the next day they 

said he had to go to London. It was 

supposed to be a routine surgery and 

it wasn’t a good outcome, so that left 

me stuck and I figured, OK, that was it. 

A kid came and knocked on my door 

one day and said I have a bass and it 

just grew from there. Long story short, 

the rest of the guys showed up and 

nobody left. We’ve been practicing 

every Wednesday night for the last 

four years. 

How do you guys make it work 

with seven or more guys in the 

band? 

We have a great time and it shows. 

It’s a compromise, and we take 

everyone’s best interests into account. 

It is a business at the end of the day 

and that’s probably the most serious 

thing we have to deal with. When it 

comes to the music, we’re not arguing 

about that. We don’t try to impress 

each other, we just try to work together 

for the team. 

Rob – That’s actually hilarious 

when I hear that because ever since 

I’ve been in this band, every single 

person that’s come into this band 

has gone up to Jamie and said I’d be 

honored and happy to play with you. 

We have a tight-knit and loyal group 

and that’s the thing. 

Tell us about the new album. 

Rob - If we have one thing to say 

about the album, the truth is it’s really 

a road map of the 519 Band because it 

shows us from when we first started, it 

shows where we’re at today and also 

shows where we’re going. When we 

first came back from Memphis after 

competing in the International Blues 

Challenge, we wrote Blues Down In 

My Soul about our trip. The break in 

the song is about when we scrambled 

down the banks of the Mississippi 

River and I put my hand in the water, 

and it was muddy water, and I plucked 

this rock out. We have this ceremonial 

drink every time we make a big 

decision - we pour liquor over the rock 

into a glass, and we all drink from it. 

That was the first song that the whole 

band actually recorded together and 

little did we know then that that was 

the beginning of our journey. 

When we competed in the IBC, we 

didn’t win, but we did well and we 

earned respect. We learned a lot and 

that’s what started us on what we’re 

doing now. We are southern Canada 

blues with a Memphis influence. 

On top of all that, we’re going 

to have this album go through the 

selection committee at The Junos. It’s 

our first kick at the can and we’ve met 

the criteria to have them look at it, so 

who knows. 

There’s a wonderful funky vibe 

with I Got The Blues. It reminds me 

of The Average White Band and Sly 

And the Family Stone. 

That’s where it’s coming from. 

There’s a little Temptations there too. 

It’s the groove man, it’s all about the 

groove. People want to change the 

chords and change all this, but it ain’t 

a symphony. 

People don’t understand that, but 

if you play something consistently, 

people will catch it. If you’re playing 

all over the place, as soon as people 

get the vibe you’re somewhere else 

and you’re losing them. Keep simple 

songs that drive with a good funky 

beat, that way they start moving their 

feet. 

Tell us some more about the IBC, 

that must have been fun? 

We were in Memphis and we got 

to play the Hard Rock. We’re playing 

with The Delgado Brothers out of 

California, and they won the whole 

thing. I look at it like I was with the 

winners, so I won too. We played 

one day at 11 am at a place run by a 

Canadian called Kooky Canuck. All 

the bands from Canada showed up 

there and we played a few songs. You 

know Canadians, they had a pancake 

breakfast. And we had pancakes too, 

with maple syrup and beer at 11am. 

We booked ourselves every night and 

we played too much so when it came 

time for the competition, we were 

dragging our butts. 

What can we expect at your CD 

release party at RockStar in May? 

Photo by Dan Boshart, 27th Floor Photography 

You can expect us to do what we do. 

We’ll probably play the whole album 

front to back, but I don’t know at this 

point. The funny thing with this band 

is we can write a set list, and we won’t 

play anything like what we just wrote. 

Mark Schierholz

Stryper Embarking on a Tour of Hard Rock Classics by Other Bands 


Chart-topping hard rock Christian 

band Stryper is trying something a 

little different with their latest tour. The 

35-year-old band returns to the road 

this month for the 2019 History Tour, a 

greatest hits and covers show featuring 

the music that influenced the Stryper 

generation. 

This all-new tour comes on the heels 

of the band’s yearlong God Damn Evil 

World Tour, which concluded in Japan 

in February. 

Stryper now consists of original 

members Michael Sweet (vocals and 

guitar), Robert Sweet (drums) and Oz 

Fox (guitar), as well as bassist Perry 

Richardson (formerly of the multiplatinum 

band Firehouse) who joined 

the group in 2018. 

One of the band’s early concert dates 

sees them at The Token Lounge in 

Westland, Michigan on May 14. They 

also hit The Rockpile in Toronto the 

next day. 

Michael Sweet gave 519 a call during 

a break the band’s current rehearsal 

schedule to fill us in on the new tour. 

You guys are getting ready to 

embark on the History tour across 

the Americas. Is this something 

you’ve wanted to do for a while? 

We try to change things up from 

tour to tour, and we thought it would 

be fun to let loose and show the people 

a little bit more of what Stryper is and 

where we came from. We made an 

album called The Covering, it contains 

all the songs we grew up on and bands 

that we grew up on. So we wanted to 

take it a step further and do a tour and 

play some covers. We’re going to be 

doing the classic Stryper songs and all 

those songs that the fans want to hear, 

but we’re going to be having some fun 

playing some covers and putting our 

own spin on things. 

We’re doing a Firehouse song - 

our bass player is originally from 

Firehouse. It’s going to be more of a 

loose fun, kind of vibe for the tour and 

it’s not going to be so serious, if that 

make any sense. It’s supposed to be 

and event for everyone come out and 

remember the old days and have a blast 

doing it. 

Would you say this tour would be 

the closest Stryper will be to being 

just a rock band and not a Christian 

rock band? 

Not really, we’re still doing Yahweh, 

More Than a Man, The Valley. We’re 

still doing all these songs that are so 

potent and powerful in the Christian 

sense of the word and delivering the 

message. We’re still tossing out bibles, 

and we’re still who we are. We’re not 

changing who we are, and we couldn’t 

even if we tried. We’re just showing 

people a different side of the band 

and a little more of where we came 

from musically. We wouldn’t be here 

without all of the bands like Van Halen, 

Scorpions and Judas Priest. You know 

we were listening to those bands before 

we were Stryper, we were learning 

their songs before we were Stryper, and 

we were playing their songs in clubs 

before we were Stryper. So if it wasn’t 

for those bands I wouldn’t be sitting 

here talking to you. 

Halestorm Get Action Packed For Latest Music Video 


Widely acknowledged as one of the 

most vital and iconic bands in modern 

hard rock, Halestorm made a spectacular 

debut with 2009’s self-titled debut 

album and there’s no stopping them. 

This month Halestorm is touring 

Canada in support of their fourth album 

Vicious and they’ll stop in Southwestern 

Ontario at London Music Hall on May 

12 with Beasto Blanco and Palaye 

Royal. 

Photo by Jimmy Fountaine 

We spoke with drummer Arejay Hale 

ahead of the tour. 

In the Vicious video Lzzy is pretty 

kick ass. 

Yeah, it was really fun. We were 

inspired by the whole Kill Bill and 

Quentin Tarantino movie thing that 

we tried to recreate. It’s kind of funny 

though because the directors try to make 

these serious kick-ass videos, but by the 

time it’s all finished and all done, it kind 

of turns out a little silly. 

It was really fun. I got to play a 

victim, getting tackled by these goons 

and tied up. The funny thing was we 

were literally tied up in this warehouse 

and it was kind of cold out. We were tied 

up there and sitting on this cold concrete 

for a good half-hour waiting for the 

crew to get the cameras and lighting 

ready. We were tied up with ropes and 

it was cold; we had bags over our heads 

and it was very uncomfortable. My ass 

went completely numb, and instead of 

complaining about it, I decided that I’m 

going to use this discomfort when we 

finally get untied and rescued. If you see 

the uncomfortable look on my face, you 

know it’s a genuine one. 

Do you find you’re the protective 

brother when you’re on the road? 

Absolutely, especially in the early 

days. Now we actually get to tour with a 

security guy - he’s awesome. His name 

is JT and he’s a big 6’7” - just a huge 

guy. He takes care of all of us and he 

does such a good job. 

In the beginning years we all looked 

out for each other. Once we got Joe and 

Josh, it felt like we found our long-lost 

siblings so to speak. We’re all on the 

same page. We all have the same drive 

and ambition, and we all have the same 

passion for music that we were making 

together. For the first couple of years 

touring, it was just the four of us and my 

parents, and we were in a little RV. We 

were playing some sketchy places, some 

real dive bars, you never know what’s 

out there, so we kind of had no choice, 

but to just look at each other and just 

make sure that we stayed together. We 

had a buddy system. All of us were each 

other’s “accountabilabuddy”, that’s a 

South Park reference for those that don’t 

know. 

Vicious it was written with 

Canadian boys Kevin and Kane 

Churko. Was there a good connection 

with them? 

Oh yeah, absolutely. It was amazing. 

We wrote the song and recorded it 

thought it was a cool song, but we didn’t 

know it fit the theme of the album. It was 

catchy and melodic and it had some pop 

sensibility, but we just didn’t know if it 

would fit with the whole theme of the 

album. 

Then Joe our guitar player went out 

and got this incredible guitar, it’s called 

a Manson, it’s like a signature guitar. 

It has all these cool sounds and he did 

this kick-ass guitar riff that was just so 

cool, that fit so well with the song, and 

we were like Oooo, I think this riff will 

work with this melody and I gave it kind 

of dance beat after that. It all just came 

together and in the end the song actually 

fit really well. 

As we were finishing the album, we 

just kept on liking the song. We have 

so many titles for the album that we 

were bouncing back and forth, trying 

to figure out what we were going to call 

the album and then somebody suggested 

Vicious. 

We have never named an album 

strictly after a track before. We always 

try to think of a creative title for the 

album unrelated to the songs. This is 

a couple firsts on this album - the first 

time we named an album after a track 

and also the first album that were not on 

the cover. 

We created a more creative concept 

out of art for the album cover. So, I think 

that song in particular ended up tying the 

album together - a song that we thought 

might not fit with the theme actually end 

up bringing the whole theme together.

Chicago’s First Canadian Frontman Neil Donell is Still a Big Fan 


Chicago stands as one of America’s 

most successful rock bands. The 

legendary unit started as a horn-based 

underground rock band in the late 1960s 

and through the decades leading to 2019, 

have released 36 albums, sold well 

over 100 million records, and scored 

20 Top 10 pop and 22 Top 10 adult 

contemporary hit singles. 

The latest version of the band features 

its first Canadian member - Toronto 

vocalist Neil Donell, who has his own 

impressive list of accomplishments, one 

of them having been featured on more 

than 10,000 recordings, including Anne 

Murray, Andrea Bochelli, Willie Nelson, 

Michael Bolton and Shania Twain. 

Donell will sing lead tenor vocals 

when Chicago visits Caesars Windsor 

for its only Southwestern Ontario gig on 

May 26. He spent some time with 519 

giving us a bit of his elaborate history 

and some pointers on what it’s like being 

the new guy in Chicago. 

It was almost two years ago that 

you joined the band. So how has the 

last two years changed your life? 

Yes, it’ll be two years in October. 

The the first thing is that I have a new 

family because the band and the entire 

organization is very much like a family 

- and we’re traveling a lot. The band 

still does more than a hundred shows 

a year, so you have to get up to speed. 

That’s a bit of an adjustment, mostly 

with the travel. A lot of the times you 

have a pretty lengthy tour bus ride after 

the show and you might not get into the 

hotel before 8:00 in the morning, but 

playing this iconic catalog of songs is a 

thrill every night. The band still sells out, 

it’s a lot of fun. I guess you could say the 

fun quotient in my life has skyrocketed. 

How did the Chicago gig come 

about? 

Well, there’s a lot of speculation on 

how that happened. I think YouTube was 

part of it. My living was predominantly 

as a studio musician for more than 30 

years. In fact, I still do a fair amount of 

studio work when I’m in Toronto and 

also for clients all over the world. I think 

somebody heard me and I was brought to 

the attention of the band through various 

YouTube things that they heard and saw. 

I was in New York City in December 

2015 when they first contacted me and 

it took a little while before it actually 

took root. I had conversations with 

management at that point in time and 

then I guess it was October maybe 2017 

when they approached me and asked me 

to become a member of the group. 

I understand that you were a fan 

first. Have you ever seen them in 

concert before? 

You know I hadn’t. One of the second 

bands I was ever in as a teenager was 

a band that had horns in it because we 

had a music program at the high school 

I attended in Montreal. So when the 

first Chicago Transit Authority album 

came out in 1969 we were kids. That 

was monumental to a lot of musicians 

or budding musicians at the time and 

we were very excited about that fusion 

of Jazz and Rock. I put a band together 

to play those songs so I’ve been familiar 

with the band’s catalog since the 

inception of the group pretty much. 

It’s almost like a perfect fit for you 

then? 

Over the years, I have pretty much 

performed the whole catalog at one 

point or another. The band had three lead 

singers originally - and it still does. The 

late, great Terry Kath, Robert Lamm 

(one of the founding members who is 

still in the band) and Peter Cetera who 

left the group in the 80s. I somehow had 

the ability to emulate all three voices and 

I think that’s what piqued their interest 

in me. They thought that if anybody got 

into any problems or was sick, I could 

cover up any of the three voices at any 

given time. 

Is it different playing with the real 

band and singing the songs? 

Yes and no. This is a group of highly 

skilled musicians. Every single member 

that’s in the band now has a certain level 

of musicianship and you really can’t get 

any higher. It’s consistently good and it’s 

just exciting every night. There’s Jimmy 

Pankow, one of the founding members 

and phenominal trombone player, and 

on the other hand there’s Robert Lamm 

a founding member. They’re inducted 

into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and 

in the company with people like Lennon 

and McCartney. They will tell you that 

it never gets old. It’s just exciting every 

single night. It’s astonishing really. 

Although the voices are important 

in Chicago, the voice is only a part of 

it. Chicago is not just a rock band – it’s 

a bit more complex than that. 

I would say absolutely. The depth of 

the writing is something that you don’t 

find very often in pop and rock music. 

They’re very sophisticated songs, both 

musically and lyrically. Robert Lamm is 

often asked if he’s going to get around 

to writing a biography, and his answer 

is usually: all you have to do is read the 

lyrics of my songs and you’re going to 

get a pretty strong insight of who I am 

and what my life is all about. 

I think you’re the first Canadian in 

the band. That must be a thrill and an 

honour. 

Oh, yeah, it is. To get a phone call 

from a band that’s sold north of 225 

million records and is in the Rock and 

Roll Hall of Fame and has been around 

this long and continues to have to pack 

houses, it’s almost surreal at times. I 

wasn’t expecting it. A lot of people say 

I’m living the dream. I have to qualify 

that and tell them this is not something 

that I aspired to do. I was very content 

in the studio because the variety was 

enormous and I was very busy - and I 

made a good living at it. Hopefully you 

get good at what you do and somebody 

notices. In this case, somebody did and it 

just turned out to be a wonderful fit both 

for the band and myself. We all get along 

famously. 

I noticed on the Chicago website 

that said you feel like the music has 

been entrusted to you as a ‘Sacred 

Trust’. What does that mean 

specifically? 

These songs mean a lot to a lot of 

people. Every night at the meet and 

greets before and after the shows, people 

will come up to us and say that this 

specific song was our wedding song 

- that has happened a couple times on 

this tour. People have come up, and they 

said that this song or that song got me 

through a stressful period, whether it’s 

a serious illness or the loss of someone 

in the family and so, you know how 

significant the songs are for people. So 

many fans come to the concert expecting 

to hear what they remember and you 

8 8

have to take into consideration that a 

lot of these recordings were done when 

the guys were in their 20s and 30s when 

they were younger. The average age of 

the band now is about 50 to early 70s. 

A lot of these songs like “You’re the 

Inspiration”, “Questions 67 and 68”, and 

songs of that nature, bring back a lot of 

memories for people and they want to 

hear them as they remember them. 

You have to try to replicate those 

original recordings and at the same time 

find the balance of bringing a little of 

yourself into the mix, so you do have 

to personalize them to some degree. 

But to me, that’s what the sacred trust 

is. People pay good money to come to 

these concerts and see a band that they 

love and whose music that they love and 

so the onus is on us to ensure that they 

leave the theater with great big smiles on 

their faces. 

A new singer can sometimes propel 

a band to new heights. Is there new 

energy now that you’ve taken a spot 

in Chicago? 

Yes, there seems to be. Remember 

this is the band’s 52nd year of touring. 

It’s astonishing and virtually unheardof. 

A lot of people have been saying that 

the current incarnation of the band is the 

best that the band has ever been; even 

some founding members have said every 

single night that we’re nailing it! Robert 

Lamm introduces everybody in the band 

and every night he talks about how 

exciting and how great this version of 

the band is - you can see it on everyone’s 

faces. In a recent interview, he said every 

night that he’s smiling from ear-to-ear 

and you know when I see the founding 

members just smiling and beaming, you 

know that we’re doing something right. 

Is it hard to maintain a four-octave 

voice? 

Yes and no. Over the years I learned 

certain techniques and I’m a bit of a 

fitness guy so I keep myself in very good 

physical condition. I work out every day 

when I’m on the road and even when I’m 

home. I’m a yogi. I do a lot of yoga and I 

don’t drink alcohol. I actually do master 

classes when I’m home in Toronto to 

hopefully teach other singers what I’ve 

learned. 

I saw you perform with Jeans N 

Classics in Windsor and you have an 

uncanny ability to sound like so many 

singers. I’m sure you just don’t pull 

these voices out of a hat – there must 

be some work and practice? 

I learned when I was a teenager that I 

had - and everybody has - the ability to 

be a mimic to some degree. That’s how 

we learn by copying the reactions and 

sometimes the voices of other people. 

It’s just an innate skill that people have. 

Some people have it more than others 

and learn to develop it and I learned very 

young that I had that ability. As a studio 

singer and studio musician for years, 

I think I imitated over a 100 people in 

some way shape or form and when I was 

with Jeans N Classics I’ve been everyone 

from Sting to Joe Cocker to Steve Perry. 

When I’m doing studio work I could 

get a call asking if I can do this voice 

or that voice. If I had never done the 

voice before I would take a Richard 

Branson approach, which is saying yes 

and figuring it out later. I would hang up 

the phone and I would immediately go 

and get recordings of that particular artist 

and go about my business and have the 

music playing in my house and without 

fail at some point in time I would have 

what I used to call a Eureka moment 

where I would find exactly how to 

produce that sound and make that voice 

and style work. 

In the studio I worked with everyone 

from Andrea Bocelli to Willie Nelson to 

Michael Bolton. It’s been a really wide 

range over the years. I remember one 

time there was a new beer that came to 

Canada and they bought the rights to a 

song by the band Foreigner, and they 

had me come in and I could sound just 

like Lou Gramm. We did that, it went to 

air, and they had to take it down because 

it was too close to the original. People 

actually thought it was the original 

recording. You can buy the rights to the 

song, but it doesn’t necessarily give you 

the rights to the performance. That’s a 

separate thing that you have to negotiate. 

So I had that ability to do that. 

Your bio says you’ve been involved 

in 10,000 different recording 

sessions. Aside from your own 

personal recordings, do you have any 

favourites? 

The great thing I loved about the 

studio work was the variety of it all - it 

was always something different. There 

was a time in the 80s and through the 90s 

where I did a lot of albums where they 

would bring in two or three singers to 

an ensemble work and then the budgets 

got paired back. As time went on, the 

recorded music business has kind of 

disintegrated because of downloading 

and file sharing and we got to this point 

where you have the budgets weren’t 

there anymore. They would bring 

me in for the day and I would do the 

background vocals of an entire album, 

10 to12 songs in one day. 

I guess those are the things that I 

really enjoy doing, even though it’s very 

intense and you’re often exhausted at the 

end of it from the focusing in the studio. 

Precision is critical, even though things 

can be fixed with auto-tuning. I like to 

be as meticulous as I can, as exacting as 

I can, in any performance situation and 

still bring as much feeling and soul to 

those performances that I can. 

Are there any big sessions that 

you’ve done that people would be 

surprised that you were in? 

Well, what I think would surprise 

people is probably how often they’ve 

heard my voice and don’t know it’s me. 

I had a commercial that I think it just 

ended in December of last year. It ran in 

the United States and Canada for about 

three and a half years, which is virtually 

unheard-of these days. Everyone is very 

surprised when they find out that it’s me. 

Many years ago I did a commercial 

for a major company and something 

about this particular jingle really touched 

people. It aired in different parts of the 

world - in Australia, New Zealand, 

South Africa, parts of Europe, the United 

States and Canada. The outpouring I got 

from that was crazy. People went out of 

their way to find out who the voice was 

on that commercial and I got hundreds 

of emails from all over the world. Some 

of them were incredibly touching and I 

had people who had sons and daughters 

over in the Gulf War who were moved 

by the commercial. I remember a lady in 

New Zealand contacted me. She had just 

had her first child and something about 

the commercial made her cry, so she felt 

compelled to reach out 

The bottom line is that people would 

be really surprised at how often they hear 

my voice. In fact, I will be in a city or 

someplace and turn on the television or 

the radio wherever I am and there I am. It 

even happened to me at Disney World. I 

heard a voice from the speakers in a store 

as I was going about my business, and 10 

or 15 minutes later I’d realize it was me. 

So many times I’ll hear something that 

I’ve completely forgotten about it and it 

can surprise me. There are over 10,000 

recording sessions out there and it still it 

stuns me to think of it. 

The Juno Awards just came to 

London last month. Do you have any 

fond memories from past Awards? 

I was actually nominated for a Juno 

Award on three separate occasions, so 

those were the only times that I actually 

went to the awards - and at the time I was 

under a pseudonym. I had another career 

at that point. 

I had a distribution deal with Sony in 

the 1990s for about five years, so I was 

nominated for several awards and the 

thrilling part for me was working with 

great Canadian artists that are out there. 

I’ve had the chance to work on many 

records with Anne Murray, and I’ve 

been on the bill with people like Gordon 

Lightfoot, Triumph and Rush. Rik 

Emmett of Triumph is a good friend of 

mine, a phenomenal and internationally 

acclaimed guitarist and singer. I’ve 

worked with Shania Twain and it’s just 

really cool to hang out with these people 

at events like that. That’s the fun part of 

being at any of those occasions. 

You’ll be heading to Caesars 

Windsor here next month. Will this be 

the full two set, 30 song show? 

Last year the band was playing the 

Chicago II record in its entirety during 

the first half of the show. That was 

thrilling because that album comes from 

the era when there were concept albums, 

and of course that particular record had 

“Colour My World”, “25 or 6 to 4”, and 

“Make Me Smile”. We’ve gotten back 

to the greatest hits now. There’s a little 

section in the first-set where there’s 

a little unplugged thing that goes on, 

which is great fun. Then in the back half, 

it’s all hits. 

We have a brilliant manager that’s 

been with the bands for about four years, 

who’s not only a great manager, but one 

of the kindest and nicest human beings 

you will ever meet. He likes to change 

things up every year. So, who knows 

what 2020 will bring. We did songs off 

of Chicago II last year – maybe he’ll 

go for Chicago III next year. That’s one 

of my favorite albums. There are some 

brilliant songs on that record.


David Foster is a Canadian music icon and 

has earned the nickname The Hitman for all 

the hits he’s created. 

His music credits, for songwriting and 

production span five decades with legendary 

artists like Celine Dion, Michael Bublé, 

Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson - just 

to name a few. 

Foster is set to tour Canada for the first 

time starting this month in Montreal. He has 

stops in Kitchener at the Centre in the Square 

on June 6 and Caesars Windsor on June 9. 

Foster checked in with 519 at Heathrow 

Airport between flights while on route to 

China for some television work. 

You were just in Southwestern Ontario 

for the Juno’s a couple months back. It 

seems like you had a great time in London. 

I just come from London, England. I flew 

straight from England to Toronto and then 

drove to London. Of course, with Michael 

Bublé there to present the award, it was a 

great weekend. I did the song artist panel 

and of course, I love all things Canadian, 

so it was only right that I came out. 

The Junos were all about the David 

Foster Foundation and the 2019 

Humanitarian Award. Can you take 

me back to the beginning and how the 

foundation started? 

I’d like to point out that I was thrilled 

that the award was about the foundation 

and not focused on my music, so it felt 

fantastic to talk about my other passion, 

which is my foundation. We’re 30 some years 

strong and it started as just as an idea. 

I crossed paths with a young five-year-old 

girl who needed a liver transplant and I started 

helping her family. It got me motivated and 

got me going. We were just local to 

Victoria then and now we’re 

Coast to Coast all 

across Canada 

and 

up north to the Arctic. We’ve helped over a 

thousand families and there’s no end in sight. 

I know you like to challenge yourself a 

lot, but you probably never expected to 

challenge of creating a foundation like this 

30 years ago? 

Some people realize there’s a certain point 

in their life when there’s a time to give back, 

and quite honestly, I realized that pretty late 

in my life. I was maybe 34 when I started 

the foundation, but once it kicked in, it just 

felt so good and it felt so right. It’s a bit 

cliché, but if you have a platform to use it, 

it’s a responsibility, but it also shouldn’t be 

a burden to give back. It should be pleasant, 

and for me it is — we get real work done that 

helps real people. We keep families together, 

and we help them keep their houses and cars, 

and we keep their siblings happy, and, you 

know what, we feel wonderful about it. That 

being said, it’s a team effort. The foundation 

has my name on it, but it’s a team effort. 

Organ donation is also part of this. 

Becoming one only takes a second when 

you renew your driver’s license. Why do 

you think people are so hesitant? 

Well, there’s a lot of myths. The 

biggest one is that if you’re in a car 

accident somewhere and you’re 

hovering between life and death, 

there’s this fear that the policeman 

or EMT’s are going to look at your 

driver’s license and say ‘they’re an 

organ donor, just let them go.’ Of 

course, that’s not true at all. There 

are many steps that you have to 

go through to be an organ donor, 

even if you were in that horrible 

perilous position. That’s the myth, 

but it’s really the gift of life. It’s 

a way to keep your life going, 

God forbid your life ends. No one 

should be afraid of it. 

One body can give life to eight 

people and I think it can also help 

70 people with things like skin 

grafts, eye retinas, and so forth. The 

number of people in Canada to be an 

organ donor is somewhere between 14 

and 20% — if it was 80 to 90% 

there wouldn’t be hundreds, if 

not thousands, of 

people 

THE HITMAN 

RETURNS TO THE 519 

JUNO AWARDS HUMANITARIAN 

& MEGASTAR DAVID FOSTER RETURNS TO 

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO 

dying every year waiting for an organ. It’s 

clean and simple. It’s a fixable problem. 

In the early years of our foundation, we 

weren’t educated or funded enough to be able 

to take on the donor awareness part; we were 

just busy focusing families. At this point, 

we’re heavy with the donor awareness part 

of it. 

There’s an opt-out program that started in 

Nova Scotia, so maybe that’s the first of the 

provinces to really throw down on this issue 

and then more importantly, if you are an 

organ donor, you have to talk to your family 

members and let them know your wishes, 

because ultimately that what’s important. You 

can be an organ donor, but one of your family 

members can prevent it from happening. So 

you really need to let your family members 

know what your wishes are — that’s really 

important. 

The foundation looks like it’s designed 

for Canadians. You haven’t really lived in 

Canada for a while. But your ties and your 

roots are very strong here. 

I grew up in Victoria. I feel blessed that I 

had such a great upbringing and all my sisters, 

four of them, still live in Canada. I have lots 

of relatives and friends there. Until very 

recently, I still had my place in Victoria. My 

oldest friend Chris still lives in Victoria - we 

had a band together when I was 13-years-old. 

I now live in America, but it’s just too big a 

challenge to bring the foundation there. You 

have to add a zero on to our fundraising, and 

we just are not equipped to do that. It’s too big 

a ball to push uphill. 

Interestingly, Chicago is coming to town 

just a few weeks. You have a bit of a history 

with that band. Your work with them even 

predates your involvement with Celine 

Dion. What do you remember about the 

Chicago and Peter Cetera sessions? 

I was a fan of the group before I started 

working with them. They didn’t like me 

coming in and taking over. I was young, brash 

and cocky and ‘hey this the way we’re going 

to do it’, but I have nothing to live up to 

because the last couple of albums before 

me had not done well at all. I just tried 

to remind them of their greatness, 

and we end up selling millions and 

millions of records together, so it 

was a real high time for me and 

I loved it. 

It’s probably hard to 

choose an iconic and 

defining recording, I would 

think I Will Always Love 

you is probably high on 

your list. 

Yes, I would say that, 

but you also talked about 

Chicago. I think one of 

the best records that I 

made, and it’s actually a 

song that I just produced 

an arranged, is Chicago’s 

Hard Habit To Break. 

I think that’s one of 

my favorite records 

that I’ve produced 

and arranged. 

I Will Always 

Love You is the 

love song of the 

century. I reimagined 

it for

Whitney and took it in the whole 

new direction and I feel really good 

about everything on that record. 

Whitney loved it, the world loved 

it and Dolly loved it. We took a 

country song and turn it into a pop, 

R&B everything kind of song. 

Speaking about an incredible 

singer, and you mentioned him 

already, Michael Bublé. Your 

relationship with him goes way 

back. Where did you first see him 

and what was it about him that 

struck you? 

I saw him at a wedding for Prime 

Minister Mulroney’s daughter, 

and he was, in fact, ‘The Wedding 

Singer’. He just blew my mind. I 

was transfixed watching him. It was 

the same feeling I got when I first 

saw Celine Dion sing in Quebec. It’s 

that same feeling — that ultimate 

feeling you can’t put into words — 

but I just knew he was destined for 

greatness and I wanted to be part of 

that greatness. 

I just sort of grabbed him and said 

come with me. A guy like Michael 

Bublé was going to get there with 

or without me, but I wanted it to be 

with me. There’s no doubt about it 

because he’s immensely talented. 

I’m a huge hard rock fan and 

surprisingly you’ve had a couple 

of hard rock moments in your 

career as well. Alice Cooper’s 

From The Inside is one of them. 

I loved working with Alice and it 

was a great challenge for me, but his 

best work was done with Bob Ezrin, 

who’s just coincidently another fine 

Canadian producer. 

Alice was a dream to work with, 

and he was so great with me. To 

his credit, he wanted to branch out 

and be with somebody like me but I 

don’t think that album particularly 

holds up now and I think it’s my 

fault. I don’t think it’s his fault. The 

songs are excellent, but I think that 

I wasn’t the right producer for it. 

The Tubes, on the other hand, is a 

different story. When I co-wrote the 

song She’s a Beauty for them and 

did two albums with them, that was 

pretty meaningful for me because 

they’ve never had a top-10 hit 

before, and She’s A Beauty is about 

as rock and roll as I can ever get, so 

it’s kind of nice milestone for me. 

I’ve noticed Steve Lukather 

pop up a few times on albums 

you’ve worked on. Is he one of 

your go-to musicians? 

He certainly has been in the past. 

He’s an amazing musician, not just 

guitar player, but singer-songwriter 

and guitar player virtuoso. He’s one 

of the best in the world and yeah in 

the early years I used to use him on 

sessions like Alice Cooper and The 

Tubes, but then he quickly found his 

own away with Toto and producing 

other acts and writing songs. He’s 

become a legend on his own. I think 

he tours with Ringo Starr now, and 

he’s sought-after around the world. 

I’m happy to have had the time that 

he spent in my life. In case you 

didn’t realize, we co-wrote She’s A 

Beauty together for The Tubes, so 

we have that special moment. 

As someone who has been 

nominated for almost 50 Grammy 

Awards, your love of music had to 

start from somewhere. Who was 

it that made you love music? 

My father was an amateur 

musician, and he was a good 

piano player. He would patiently 

spend time teaching me because 

my parents recognized that I had a 

talent. We didn’t have any money, 

but we weren’t poor. They managed 

to pull it together to get me piano 

lessons every week starting at age 

5. Then at age 13, The Beatles came 

along, and like many, they changed 

my life. 

I turned my back on classical 

music, but I’d had a great foundation 

of classical music from my parents 

and some good teachers, but The 

Beatles came along and I knew 

right away that’s what I wanted to 

do. 

I also want to point out that the 

school band is a great place to be. 

My band teachers were amazing 

and gave me a lot of room to learn 

different instruments. They also 

recognized that I had a talent, and 

they played into that and helped 

me get to the next level. You’ve 

probably heard this story over and 

over again — even John Mayer 

talks about it. You can talk to pretty 

much any musician and at some 

point in their life, I bet they were in 

the high school band. 

I was curious to know about 

your Broadway ambitions. My 

husband adores Betty Boop, so 

we’re waiting for that one. 

Yeah, I’m waiting for it too. 

Broadway is a huge challenge and 

I’m working on four musicals right 

now. I know that sounds impressive, 

but it’s not really because you just 

have to spread it out and hope that 

one of them hits. 

We just had a 29-hour read on 

my catalog musical which are my 

songs basically with a story weaved 

around them. There’s the Betty 

Boop one and I’m working on a 

show called Lucky Us, which is a 

New York Times best-selling book. 

They’re all in various stages and I 

think Broadway is a good place for 

me because I just feel like I sort off 

belong there. It’s a place where you 

have to write good music, which I 

think I’m still capable of doing, and 

you have to tell a story. It’s a big 

challenge for me, but I’m up for it. 

I know you worked with 

Michael Bublé on his latest album. 

Are there any other Productions 

in the works? 

There are a couple of things I 

wouldn’t mind doing but I’ve spent 

45 years in the studio. I’m happy for 

the break as we speak. I’m on my 

way to the airport for China. Out 

there I do a show called World’s 

Got Talent and I also do Asia’s Got 

Talent, which is like America’s Got 

Talent. So I’m doing all these TV 

things and there are a lot of other 

things, like Broadway and the 

Foundation — they keep me busy. 

I don’t want to say that I’ve 

accomplished everything in the 

studio that I should have or could 

have, but I think I deserve a rest. 

David Foster at the 2019 Juno Awards 

in London, ON - photo by Dan Savoie

Cirque Acrobat has Been Performing with Corteo for nearly 15 years 


Fans of Cirque du Soleil are no doubt 

familiar with the legendary production 

Corteo. Its title means cortege in Italian. 

The show first premiered in 2005 in 

Montreal and has been performed about 

4,000 times to a total audience of more 

than five million spectators. As with 

most Cirque shows, it features a variety 

of acrobatic routines, clever music and 

elaborate set designs. 

It visits the WFCU Centre in Windsor 

from May 15-19 and then returns to 

Budweiser Gardens in London from June 

13-16, before heading to the US for the 

summer and Europe in the fall. 

Original Corteo performer and acrobat 

Frederic Umali called 519 from his tour 

stop in Florida to chat about all things 

Corteo. 

How did you get involved with 

Corteo? 

My first introduction to it was when I 

was living in Australia. I had a friend and 

colleague that I was working with that had 

previously worked in the company and we 

became quite good friends. He suggested 

that I do an audition for the company at the 

time. I did an impromptu audition when I 

was living there and they chose me. They 

have a bank of artists that they keep, who 

have different skills for different kinds 

of shows that are very specific to what 

their needs are. If they need people with 

our type of skills, they’ll call us up and 

possibly offer us some jobs. 

The skills must be somewhat 

In Mary Poppins, the classic 1934 

novel, and beloved 1964 musical with Julie 

Andrews and Dick van Dyke, Riverfront 

Theatre Company has found what they 

enjoy doing best - bringing a classic to life 

for family-friendly live entertainment. The 

youth theatre company will be bringing 

their 65-member cast (ages 6 to 17) in 

this Disney Broadway musical to the Olde 

Walkerville Theatre May 17-26th. 

With musical direction by Jeffrey 

Gartshore and Meredith Garswood, and 

choreography by Grace Clarkson (with 

guest choreography for the tap number by 

Lauren Carlini), Mary Poppins has been an 

ambitious challenge embraced by cast and 

volunteer crew members alike. 

Five graduating students will be 

performing for their last time with 

Riverfront. Brooke Samms plays Mrs. 

Corry in each performance, and, in 

alternating performances, the frightening 

nanny, Miss Andrew. Brooke, who 

joined RTC in 2008 now has the most 

“seniority” at Riverfront. Ryan MacLean 

and Matt Hogan will be sharing the role 

of Mr. Banks. Julian David will play 

Bert, Mary Poppins’ devoted admirer, 

and the Chairman of the Bank. Meredith 

Garswood will play the title role of Mary 

Poppins. 

The roles of Jane and Michael Banks 

will be shared by Sydney Bondy and 

transferable from gymnast to acrobat. 

Which one is harder? 

Well, I see the world of Circus Arts as 

really diverse. There are so many different 

things that you can learn. Transitioning 

from a gymnast to a circus acrobat was 

challenging, but familiar. We all have our 

strengths - some of us are good aerialists, 

some are good tumblers, and some of us 

are good actors. I’ve tried to keep my 

skill set pretty well-rounded. I’ve done 

everything from flying and ariel work 

from about 20 feet up in the air to ground 

acrobatics and stage acting. It’s hard to 

say what’s harder because every discipline 

that’s in the field takes years and years and 

years to develop the skill set to do what 

we do. It’s not something that just comes 

overnight. 

What exactly do you perform in the 

Corteo show? 

The act that I specifically perform is a 

number called Tournik and it’s basically 

very similar to gymnastics horizontal 

bar, but with a twist. In gymnastics, we 

have one bar and there’s one person on 

the bar at a time. In the act that I do, the 

main part is a cube in the center, which 

is four horizontal bars all connected into 

basically the shape of a cube. We also 

have two extra bars, external of that cube 

that we call the Tourniks, so in total there 

are six bars and at any point in the act 

there are between two and ten of us on the 

bars at the same time. 

How long does it take to learn a 

routine and have any of the routines 

that you’ve done been out of your 

Josephine (“Posey”) Cormier, and Ryan 

Nesbit and Cooper Kemp, respectively. 

Ayslin Downhill will play Winifred Banks. 

The musical includes several of the best 

beloved songs from the original movie, 

such as “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” “Perfect 

Nanny,” “Spoonful of Sugar,” and 

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” (in 

an expanded and far more exciting version 

than that in the movie), but audiences 

attending the musical will enjoy several 

new songs as well. This Broadway musical 

has more depth and emotion than did the 

movie, with greater character depth, as 

well. Winifred Banks, the mother of the 

two “adorable” Banks children, who was 

a bit of a featherhead in the movie is a far 

more poignant and endearing character in 

the musical. 

With their 40th show, in this, their 15th 

season, Riverfront promises to deliver a 

solid evening or afternoon of entertainment 

for local families. 

Mary Poppins runs May 17-19 and 

May 24-26 at the Olde Walkerville 

Theatre, Friday and Saturdays at 7 p.m., 

and Sundays at 2 p.m. General Admission 

tickets are $15 (adults) and $10 (students), 

and are available through the Olde 

Walkerville Theatre Box Office. The show 

will run approximately two and a half 

hours, with an intermission (baked goods 

available for purchase through donation). 

comfort zone at all? 

Well, circus acts are 

always a little bit out of 

your comfort zone, and 

if it’s something that if 

it’s not a challenge that 

you’re looking forward 

to, then it’s not really 

the best environment 

for you. We do different 

things all the time and 

if somebody is sick, we 

need to jump into another role. We have to 

be able to adapt to those challenges quite 

quickly, but in terms of my acts, acrobatics 

is very complicated and everybody has, as 

I said their strengths and their weaknesses 

and things like that, but overall the skill 

set of the guys that I work with are very 

similar in terms of what we can do to keep 

the act balanced. We all have many, many 

years of acrobatic training that brought us 

to perform in this type of environment. 

The show Corteo has been around 

quite a long time. How has the show 

changed over the years? 

I was part of the original cast that created 

the show back in 2005. I would say that 

the show, in general, has changed a lot 

because the version that we did in the big 

top is a little bit different from what we 

do now in the arena version. In the grand 

scope of things the essence of the show 

remains the same, but things always 

change because we have new artists or 

a couple new acts in the show. For the 

most part, the energy of the people on 

stage changes because there are different 

people portraying different characters 

throughout the show, but I really believe 

that when they remounted this show into 

the arena format, that they were able to 

keep a sense of what the original concept 

of the show was. I think that’s fantastic, 

because sometimes things get interpreted 

differently or change drastically because 

of technical restraints, but in this version 

I really believe they did well and added a 

few things that supplement the feeling of 

the overall show. 

Do you think there is a different feel 

or vibe performing under the big top 

vs. the arena? 

Yeah, it’s a little different because, in 

the big top, it’s a set structure. We have 

a tent that never changes and we have 

an environment that never changes. In 

an arena format, we’re in a different 

city and sometimes we’re at a huge 

arena that seats 15,000 people, and next 

week we’re in a smaller arena that is 

significantly less or maybe even half that 

size. Sometimes the roof is much higher, 

sometimes lower. The environment 

varies, sometimes the audience is very 

close to us and sometimes they’re a bit 

further away. 

There are variations with being in an 

arena because some are hockey arenas 

and some are basketball, so yeah they’re 

all a little different with their own little 

challenges to overcome when we come 

to a new space. We look forward to those 

challenges in Windsor and London. 

Tickets for the Windsor show start at 

$38.50 for Windsor and $42 in London. 

For more information, visit the website 

cirquedusoleil.com. 

Riverfront Theatre Co. Celebrates 40th Production With Mary Poppins

Local Band Strives to Replicate the Original CCR Experience 

By April Savoie 

Five local musicians have taken it 

upon themselves to keep the classic 

rock of Creedence Clearwater Revival 

and John Fogerty alive. The band, 

featuring Paul Beresford (lead vocals , 

guitar), Al Hendry (guitar, vocals), Drew 

Soltes (bass, vocals), Brandon Gourley 

(drums, percussion) and John Litynsky 

(guitar, vocals) are set to headline Olde 

Walkerville Theatre in Windsor on June 

22. 

Drew checked in with 519 for a little 

chat about everything CCR. 

Tell me a bit about Bayou County. 

Bayou County is a celebration of the 

music of CCR and John Fogerty. We do a 

very authentic version of their music and 

like to perform it exactly as originally 

recorded? 

How did the band form? Was it for 

the love of credence? 

Yeah, I think so. I think that over 

five decades now, I’ve been hearing this 

music. I mean, it’s timeless and it’s the 

music of the heartland. It is so embedded 

in our musical culture. As you walk 

around we hear this music all day long, 

so we thought that doing a rendition of 

this great music would be just a great way 

to perform a show live. 

You mention that you play it how 

it was recorded. How do you strive to 

make it that authentic? 

Well, today’s technology makes it a 

lot easier today to capture the tones and 

nuances of the music. It really helps us 

creates that authentic sound. 

EVENTS IN THE 519 

Brantford 

May-09 - Galaxy of Stars & Music of the Big Bands, 

Sanderson Centre (2:30pm) 

June-03 - Denielle Bassels, Sanderson Centre (8pm) 

Chatham 

May-12 - London Symphonia: Bolero, Chatham Capitol 

Theatre (2pm) 

May-24 - Brothers Gibb: The Bee Gees Story, Chatham 

Capitol Theatre (8pm) 

May-25 - Floydium: Canada’s Pink Floyd Tribute, Chatham 

Capitol Theatre (8pm) 

Kitchener-Waterloo 

May-08 - Kongos 1929 Tour, Maxwell’s Concerts & 

Events (7:30pm) 

May -13- Alessia Cara - The Pains Of Growing Tour, In 

The Square (7:30pm) 

May-14 -John Cleese, Centre In The Square (7:30pm) 

May-16 - ROMES, Maxwell’s Concerts & Events 

(7:30pm) 

May-18 - Almost Hip, Rhapsody Barrel Bar (9:30pm) 

May-23 - George Canyon with Doc Walker & Charlie 

Major, Maxwell’s Concerts & Events (7:30pm) 

May-23 - KW Hydro electric Thursdays: Notes from the 

Brill, Centre In The Square (8pm) 

May-24 - Kasador, Maxwell’s Concerts & Events (7:30pm) 

May-25 - Sandman: The Only Sanctioned Metallica 

Tribute, Maxwell’s Concerts & Events (7:30pm) 

May-29 - Bobby Bazini, Centre In The Square (8pm) 

May-30 - Margaret Atwood: From The Handmaid’s Tale to 

Art and Technology, Centre In The Square (7pm) 

May-08,09,10,11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 - Guarded 

Girls, The Registry Theatre (2pm, 4pm, 7:30pm) 

May-10,11 - Carmina Burana, Centre In The Square (8pm) 

May-24,25 - Piano Men, Centre In The Square (8pm) 

May-26,27 - Kinky Boots, Centre In The Square (2pm, 

8pm) 

Is there a certain era that you 

concentrate on more of than another? 

Well, there’s really two eras when it 

comes down to John Fogerty. You have 

the era of CCR and then you had a 20 

years absence before John Fogerty came 

back as a solo artist. So we really have two 

different types of music there. Fogerty 

had some great hits, CCR had many great 

hits, so it is really a combination of all the 

works of John Fogerty and CCR in one 

big celebration. 

Why do you think the audience 

still connects with this music? They 

haven’t recorded really anything since 

1972. 

Let me give you an example. I was 

in Cancun a few years ago, and I was 

wandering the streets of one of the port 

cities where there was so many merchants, 

restaurants and people around and it 

seemed like every corner I turned I heard 

a new CCR song or John Fogerty song 

all the way throughout my vacation that 

year. It was just everywhere I went. It was 

predominant and maybe subconsciously 

understand, but consciously you may not 

understand that. I think demographically 

it covers all ages - young and old, because 

realistically CCR was a combination of 

country music and rock music into one 

pocket. Country fans are happy and rock 

fans are happy. 

So have you or anybody in the band 

been able to see either CCR or John 

Fogerty in concert? 

Yeah, a couple of our guys have 

actually seen Fogerty live. He has a 

couple of video concerts on YouTube, 

London 

May-08 - Eric Ethridge, The Aeolian (7pm) 

May-08 - Jordan Foisy Comedy Tour, London Music Club 

(8pm) 

May-08 - Neil Hilborn & The Endless Bummer Tour 2019, 

London Music Hall (7pm) 

May-08,09,10,11,12 - Stag and Doe by Mark Crawford, 

Palace Theatre (2pm, 8pm) 

May-09 - Big Dave McLean and Raoul, London Music 

Club (8:30pm) 

May-09 - Godsmack & Volbeat, Budweiser Gardens (7pm) 

May-09 - Mr. Man - The Big Eyes, Frank Reynolds, and 

Stone Quarter, Call The Office (9pm) 

May-09 - Danko Jones, London Music Hall (7pm) 

May-10 - Johnny Marr, London Music Hall (7:30pm) 

May-10- London GOES PUNK, Old East 765 (7pm) 

May-10 - The Woodstock Experience, The Aeolian (7pm) 

May-11 - 2019 Stephanie Worsfold Classic, London Music 

Hall (6pm) 

May-11 - Juliet Fox, Rum Runners (10pm) 

May-11 - Mommas On Broadway, Wolf Performance Hall 

(7:30pm) 

May-11 - Motown Gold, The Aeolian (8pm) 

May-11 - OLD FART , London Music Club (7pm) 

May-11 - Professional Bull Riders, Budweiser Gardens (7pm) 

May-11 - Sludgehammer/Lutharo/Moltar/Flamespitter, Old 

East 765 (8pm) 

May-12 - Halestorm, London Music Hall (8pm) 

May-12 - The Deep Dark Woods, Rum Runners (7pm) 

May-13 - Chris Webby, London Music Hall (7pm) 

May-15 - Bad Cop/Bad Cop, Rum Runners (7pm) 

May-15 - Drug Church w/ guests, Call The Office (8pm) 

May-16 - Jennifer Robson, Wolf Performance Hall (7pm) 

May-16 - Fragment, Cold Shoulder, Reliever, Worlds Grasp 

, Call The Office (8pm) 

May-16 - John Cleese, Budweiser Gardens (7:30pm) 

May-16 - The Gown with author Jennifer Robson. 

Wolf Performance Hall (7pm) 

May-17 - Barbed Wire Braces/ Tough Fuckin’ Shit/ 

Gatgas/ Swearcrow, Call The Office (9pm) 

so we can watch and capture what his 

sounds are and what his nuances are. 

A lot of people don’t realize CCR 

was at Woodstock. John never allowed 

that footage to get released. Do you 

guys touch on the Lost Woodstock era 

in your shows at all? 

Absolutely. They had many albums 

in the first few years of being CCR, they 

owned the radio - even though they’ve 

never hit #1 on the Billboard chart. They 

captured the #2 spot along the way, 

so the music was everywhere at that 

time. You’re absolutely right that era of 

Woodstock, the nuances of the Vietnam 

War and all the political unrest that was 

going on at that time - he would associate 

May-17 - Downway w/ Hit The Switch, Grayline, 

Youngest Only, Rum Runners (7pm) 

May-17 - Steven Page , The Aeolian (7pm) 

May-17 - What A Drag [International Day Against 

Homophobia] , Old East 765 (9pm) 

May-18 - London Music Club’s 15th Birthday Party/ 

Show, London Music Club (7pm) 

George Canyon headlines London Music Hall on 

May 24 with Doc Walker and Charlie Major. 

May-18 - The Pop Culture Market , Old East 765 (1pm) 

May-19 - Gucci Mane, Budweiser Gardens (7pm) 

May-19 - Mista Jones Live, Old East 765 (8pm) 

May-19 - MVRDA , Rum Runners (10pm) 

May-20 - Twenty-One Pilots, Budweiser Gardens (7pm) 

May-21 - Tongue Helmet (Danny of July Talk + Timbuktu) 

, Rum Runners (7pm) 

May-22 - The Rural Alberta Advantage w/ Averages, 

Rum Runners (7pm) 

May-23 - Combichrist w/ Silver Snakes , Rum Runners 

(6pm) 

that music with that era. 

It’s an interesting time to be a 

CCR fan right now is you know, the 

Creedence Clearwater Revisited is 

retiring. The long legal battle is now 

over. They plan on re-releasing the 

albums and may even release the 

Woodstock stuff. 

Absolutely. I mean the trials and 

tribulations that they had as a band is one 

of the worst break-ups in pop culture. 

There was infighting within the band and 

with the record companies. So yeah it was 

a very ugly time and it’s wonderful news 

that finally possibly that they’re going to 

bury the hatchet on their past grievances. 

Unfortunately, John Fogerty’s brother 

May-23 - Jodi Proznick with Laila Biali, The Aeolian 

(8pm) 

May-23 - Suddenly Mommy, Wolf Performance Hall 

(8pm) 

May-23 - Ultra-Violence Invicta + Guests, Old East 

765 (7pm) 

May-24 - Falset, Her Majesty The King, Islands & 

Empires, Old East 765 (7pm) 

May-24 - Favourites of the Prime Time Big Band, The 

Aeolian (7pm) 

May-24 - Megan Schroder Presents The Music of Patsy 

Cline, Wolf Performance Hall (8pm) 

May-24 - The Trackmarks CD Release Show, Rum 

Runners (10pm) 

May-24 - George Canyon w/ Doc Walker, Charlie 

Major, London Music Hall (6pm) 

May-25 - Kinky Boots, Budweiser Gardens (2pm, 8pm) 

May-25 - Our Celtic Heart (wsg - Matthew Byrne) , 

The Aeolian (7:30pm) 

May-26 - London Concert Band: A Musical Solstice, 

The Aeolian (2pm) 

May-26 - The Illusionists -Live on Broadway, Budweiser 

Gardens (5pm) 

May-26 - Get Your Fight On; Smash Wrestling, London 

Music Hall (4pm) 

May-30 - Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs, Rum 

Runners (7pm) 

May-31 - KAVARA w/ Tortured Saint, Atria, Devilz By 

Definition, Rum Runners (7pm) 

May-31 - Punk Meets Metal 3, Old East 765 (7pm) 

Sarnia 

May-08 - Wed Night Open Jam, Bottoms Up Bar & 

Grill (7:30pm) 

May-24 - Murder Mystery Dinner Party, Bottoms Up 

Bar & Grill (7pm) 

May-25 - Frazer Live, Lizards Bar & Grill (9pm) 

May-25 - Indie Night : Summer kick off, Theatre Forty 

Two (6pm) 

Tom is not alive anymore to be part of 

that band. I remember when they ended 

up in the Hall of Fame - there was a lot of 

tension at that time. It will be nice to see 

the animosity overwith. 

You’re coming to Windsor to Olde 

Walkerville Theatre in June. 

It’s a beautiful walk through the theatre 

and it’s just a wonderful venue. Our hats 

off to the folks that are revitalizing this 

great venue and offering an opportunity 

and the stage for all the artists in the area. 

They’ve done a great job. 

Bayou Country will bring the music 

of John Fogerty and CCR to life at Olde 

Walkerville Theatre on June 22. Tickets 

start at $25. 

SUBMIT YOUR EVENTS AT 519MAGAZINE.COM 

Windsor 

May-10 - The Justin Latam Trio, International Hotel (The 

I.T.) (10pm) 

May-11 - Mudmen, Elgin Theatre Guild (8pm) 

May-11 - Sandman Metallica tribute band returns wsg 

Powerswitch, The Back Stage (8pm) 

May-11 - Wherever I Go 2019 Canadian Tour w/ The 

Color, Olde Walkerville Theatre (6:30pm) 

May-11 - Evil Ebenezer wsg Robbie G, RockStar Music 

Hall (8pm) 

May-11,18,25 - Adventures in Dating: A romantic comedy, 

The Shadowbox Theatre (8pm) 

May-15 - Alessia Cara, Caesars Windsor (7:30pm) 

May-15,16,17,18,19 - Cirque du Soleil Corteo, WFCU 

Centre (1pm, 5pm, 3:30pm,7:30pm) 

May-16,17,18,19,23,24,25,26 - Mother Courage and Her 

Children, Kordazone Theatre (2pm, 8pm) 

May-17,18,19,24,25,26 - Mary Poppins, Olde Walkerville 

Theatre (2pm, 7pm) 

May-17 - Ken Jeong, Caesars Windsor (9pm) 

May-17 - Thy Kingdom Slum, Junko Daydream, G 

Rough, Phog Lounge (10pm) 

May-19 - The 519 Band, RockStar Music Hall (4pm) 

May-20 - SecretShowWindsor (Stand Up Comedy) , 

The Shadowbox Theatre (8pm) 

May-21 - Gucci Maine WFCU Centre (8pm) 

May-22,23 - Don Giovanni by Mozart, Capitol Theatre 

Windsor (7:30pm) 

May-22 - Christina Martin and Crissi Cochrane, Phog 

Lounge (7:30pm) 

May-24 - The Clairvoyants, Caesars Windsor (8pm) 

May-24 - LiUNA625 13th Annual 24 Hour Drum Marathon, 

Good Time Charly (4pm) 

May-26 - Chicago, Caesars Windsor (8pm) 

May-29 - Ray Fuller & the Bluerockers, RockStar Music 

Hall (7pm) 

May-31 - Journey to the Heart: An Evening of Journey & 

Heart, Olde Walkerville Theatre (8pm)

10 FUN QUESTIONs with Ben Painter from bad animal 

Without using the word fun, what’s your 

definition of fun? 

My definition is going to shows and hanging 

out with the guys. Right now we’re playing 

basketball having a big ol’ game of 21 and just 

enjoying each other’s company; it’s so much 

fun. 

What’s the most fun you’ve had in the last 24 

hours? 

Last night playing cards. Johnny had us 

cracking up so hard. I literally looked at him, my 

head is on the table and I don’t think I’m going 

to laugh as hard for the rest of the trip. We’ve 

been having so much fun on the road it’s been 

awesome. 

What is more fun, chocolate or whipped 

cream? 

Whipped Cream 

What was the most fun you’ve had watching 

a movie? 

We were in Kelowna playing at this festival 

called Breakout West where we did a bunch of 

acid and watched Kill Bill. It was so much fun 

watching that movie. 

When was the last time you were made fun 

of? 

Daily by my band. I’m the lead singer, I get the 

shit more than anyone, so every day. 

Have you ever had fun in church? 

Yeah when I was drinking the wine when I was 

a little kid. I was like, Hell Yeah, give me that shit. 

What is more fun, a mother-in-law or going 

to the dentist? 

Definitely going with the dentist. I think that’s 

way more fun because you come out with a 

shiny smile and if you have a good dentist, he 

can have you cracking up the whole time. 

What is the most fun you’ve had with your 

clothes on? 

The last album release, that was the funniest 

time ever and I was fully clothed unfortunately. 

What is the most fun you’ve had with your 

clothes off? 

Ummm, I don’t know if I can answer that 

question. (laughs) 

Has being a musician made you a more fun 

person? 

100% 

On May 23, Bad Animal will be coming to Windsor to play The Phog Lounge in celebration 

of their new album Growing Pains. Produced by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Destroyer, 

Hot Hot Heat, Yukon Blonde) at his Hive Studio on Vancouver Island - Growing Pains is 

clever and confident, while also maintaining the raw, indestructible energy the band has 

become known for. The relentless single “Blackout” provided a first taste of the new sound - 

and now the new single, “Waste All My Time,” showcases the band’s less rowdy side in the 

rock realm. 

Bad Animal Facebook Page 

SONGS BY DAVID FOSTER 

Be The Man 

The Best of Me 

Colour of My Love 

Forever 

Glory of Love 

I Have Nothing 

Love Me Tomorrow 

St. Elmo’s Fire 

One More Chance 

Power of the Dream 

Stay The Night 

You’ll See 

Too Young 

To Love You More 

Through The Fire 

Tell Him 

Stand Up For Love 

Shining Through 

Secret of My Success 

I Hear Your Voice 

Hold Me 

In The Stone 

Goodbye 

The Prayer 

She’s a Beauty 

This Must Be Love 

Now and Forever 

Life of Canadian Icon Laura Secord to be Celebrated 

in Orchestra Breva Presentation of Beethoven’s Eroica 

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the passing 

of prominent Canadian historical figure, Laura Ingersoll 

Secord, known for her heroism during the War of 1812. To 

celebrate the life of this incredible Canadian, 

Orchestra Breva is touring to places of 

importance in her life throughout the months 

of May and June for special performances of 

Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony. Places like 

Ingersoll, Brantford, Niagara, Tecumseh and 

Windsor. 

Upon overhearing American plans to 

overtake a British outpost at Beaver Dams 

(Niagara), Laura embarked on an 18-hour, 

32km trek across difficult Niagara Escarpment 

terrain to deliver the message to the British. 

With the valuable aid of Aboriginal forces and 

Laura’s vital information, the British were able to counter the 

American attack with a victory that was considered integral 

to the ultimate preservation of Canadian territory. 

Laura was born Laura Ingersoll in Great Barrington, 

Massachusetts in 1775, during the American War of 

Independence. In 1793, her father, Thomas Ingersoll, 

responded to a notice posted by Lieutenant-Governor 

Simcoe, offering blocks of land in Upper Canada on easy 

terms to American settlers. With the support of Mohawk 

Chief and Canadian political leader Captain Joseph Brant 

(Chief Thayendanegea), Ingersoll settled his family to the 

land which is now the town of Ingersoll, Ontario, just east 

of London. 

Soon after, Laura met and married merchant James 

Secord, a Loyalist of French (Huguenot) descent. The couple 

lived in the region of present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake and 

became parents of seven children. During the War of 1812, 

James served as a soldier under General Isaac Brock and was 

seriously wounded during the same battle in which General 

Brock met his end, the Battle of Queenston Heights. These 

events took place just steps from the Secord Homestead. 

Laura witnessed the body of Brock being carried by her 

house and ran to the battlefield to find her 

husband and brought him back home. While 

he was convalescing, American soldiers 

took over the Secord home, and that’s when 

Laura overheard their plan of attack. Her 

famous journey was made on June 22, 1813. 

Laura went largely unrecognized for 

her act of courage, and, after her husband 

died, she met with poverty. As a widow 

she petitioned the government several 

times for a small personal pension, seeking 

recognition for her war-time contribution, 

but was refused. At the age of 85, Edward, 

Prince of Wales, heard of her appeal and awarded her 100 

pounds, which allowed her to live out last 8 years of her life 

in relative comfort. She was honoured by the Prince along 

with 1193 veteran soldiers of the War of 1812 and, though 

not invited to sign the official registry with the soldiers, 

she insisted upon it. If Laura’s famous signature, yielded 

by her tenacity, was not on this document, we may never 

have surely known of her contribution to the freedom of our 

country. 

Laura Secord’s example of courage, resourcefulness and 

dedication as a citizen, a pioneer, and a veteran continue to 

be an inspiration to all. 

Catch Beethoven;s Eroica Symphony at Assumption Hall 

in Windsor in May 25 at 8pm, Paroisse Ste Anne in Tecumseh 

on May 26 at 8pm, the Cheese Museum in Ingersoll on June 

20 at 8pm, the Sanderson Centre in Brantford on June 21 

at 8pm, and Queenston Heights in Niagara-on-the-Lake on 

June 23 at 2pm. 

For more information, visit orchestrabreva.com.

2019 

Friday July 5 

Saturday July 6 

dJ scorPion 

GrEatEst hits livE 

Friday July 12 Saturday July 13 

EiGht-tiME 

GraMMy award winnEr 

Eric GalEs 

Celebration of Prince 

Morris day & thE tiME 

PurPlE rEiGn Band 

Plus KathlEEn Murray & 

thE GroovE council 

south rivEr sliM 

scott holt wsg hurricanE ruth 

suGaray rayford

519 May 2019

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